Lee HL2DC

Lee HL2DC is a good old friend of mine. I have met him on 40m CW back in mid '60s. It will have been half a century very soon. He was HM9DC in Pusan at that time. He was a university student studying electrical engineering. I can't remember what we have talked about those days. I still have his portrait at that time.

During '70s, my inactivity on the radio kept us away each other. In '81, soon after my coming back on the air, I have met him again. I was serving residency at a med school hospital. In '80s, he was working as an engineer at a major Korean electrical company in Tokyo. In this period, I have had a couple of eye balls with him and his family. Once at our home, the other time in Tokyo. He took his two children to our home. Both children were around 10 years old or so. This photo should be a bit later than those days. I know he has served in the army as compulsory duty before or after this time.

We have met on the radio in some intervals. He has regularly given us greeting cards. It was a few years ago when he had retired and was settled down at a suburb of Seoul city. His children have grown up and quit home to have their own family. Since I have gradually transfered myself to full retirement, we both have had much free time and have talked much oftener than ever. He loves CW and is often heard on 15m in our morning hours.

A few days ago, he has given me a call on 15m. He told me that he and his wife would visit Japan in the end of next month. It won't take me so long to decide seeing them at this time. My wife would see them as well. Since we have talked on Skype 2 or 3 times recently, we might be able to recognize each other despite of our aged outlooks. It still has passed a long time since we met in person last time. I am thankful to him for his faithful friendship for such a long time. CW might make it possible for us to stay being friends for this long time.

Another trip to Tokyo

This afternoon, I suddenly took it into my mind to go for a concert in Tokyo. It was an event held at a string instrument exhibition, where some of the exhibited string instruments made by different makers would be played by professional players. Mr. Itoh, whom I have always asked for instrument repair, was going to exhibit his newly made violin to be played there. My wife has backed me up to go there.

The exhibition as well as the concert place was in the central part of Tokyo close to the imperial palace. Honestly, we were not in time for the performance of Mr. Itoh's work, which we had to listen that through the monitor in the lobby. It sounded soft and beautiful even though we sure missed listening to it directly in the hall. We could enjoy the performance of the others' works. When listening at a seat behind in the hall, they all sounded almost the same. The standard of the works might be almost constant. Or it might be related with the place we listened to them. However, the work by a maker named Mr. Sonoda sounded best so far. Powerful and brilliant. Although I don't know if the performed pieces, like Yzaye or Paganini, were chosen by the violinist or not, they were a bit too technical ones. It exaggerated the virtuosity of the player but not the difference of the violins. Anyway, we have enjoyed them much.

I was tempted to try some cellos exhibited there. However, since I had made up mind not to get fickle to the others than mine, I dared not to do that. There were much more visitors there than several years ago when I came last time. Maybe, partly because it was the mid day of a long week end. It might be thanks to a bubbly economy as well. When they get much more money than usual, they tend to spend for something like jewels or musical instruments. We have left there after looking around all the exhibited instruments.

It was a place pretty near to our mother school, that was supposed to be familiar to us. In the twilight before sunset, under the cloudy sky, we have started walking heading to the railroad station like we used to decades ago.

 

 

 

We were lost on the way, even though we were pretty sure where we had walked! We arrived at another station next to that we had headed to. Walking up on another steep slope, we finally reached the place we had intended to go. It was a bit different from young days that the walk left us a bit of tiredness. Taking simple dinner at a restaurant close to the med school we had studied, as we used to do those days, we came back home. There were a lot of people in the downtown. In the beginning of this trip, we were talking we would come for concerts oftener than before. On the way back home, however, the stress in our conversation was in the point about how tough it was to get through the crowds or how tiring it was to get on a train delayed due to some reasons. Maybe, our young days won't come back to us so easily.

Squid cooked with radish

The same dish has been already uploaded before.

Squid has been rather expensive for the past several months, so that this dish won't come on the table for a while. This rise of the price has been told a result of expensive oil necessary for fishing squid as the light resource. Lately, coffee is getting costly. They say it is due to the bad weather in the area of manufacturing. However, I could smell something of speculation. At least, when some products are lessened in the market, such speculators won't miss a chance to make money. A few years ago, such a movement for speculation has been observed for cone in the market. Whenever I go to a supermarket, I could not help feeling such a thing at the prices of items.

Getting through the mannerism of the recipe at our home, I have prepared this last night. It was a special dinner having our daughter at home.

 

In addition to it, beef stew and fresh salad were prepared. The latter was featured with persimmon harvested in our garden. Mild sweetness of persimmon goes well with the other vegetables. 

 

 

Rice was cooked with chestnut. I have prepared a "box supper" for our daughter. Although the bad weather has prevented her from going there, she would go for a public recording of a radio program in Tokyo tomorrow. It is concerned about some social issues. She has grown up to be a sensible woman. Next spring, she would start her career as a nurse at a hospital. We are proud of her.

A story of cats in a family

Eighteen years ago or so, my wife has got a cat from her colleague person at the office she was working those days. This cat, named Aichan which stood for "Lovely", was one of the kittens an ownerless cat had given birth in the colleague's garden. She had been trained for toiletting etc there. She was told to have been most friendly to people. That was the reason she was named as it was.

 

Aichan was a smart cat. She won't be easily accoustomed with her new environment here as if she had been taught not to be by her mother. In the begininng, she won't come in our home. It was a week or so later when she came into the living room. An even more tiny kitten was following her. Of course, it was not her baby. Aichan was only a few months old at that time. That kitten was tiger patterned with grey brownish hue. It was so small as a sparrow. It was a male kitten and was named Suzume at first, which meant sparrow in Japanese. Later, being afraid people around us might be confused to hear us call him as Suzume, we have shortened the name as Suzu. He was a real astray cat descendent and has been educated by Aichan for some time. Aichan was a mother substitute for Suzu for a year or two. They have been good company throughout their lives. Suzu has been a real pet for our daughter.

 

Aichan in 2008. She always loved being in a narrow space like this box.

 

 

 

Aichan in 2007. A smart cat that was very good at grasping what was going on around her. She was loved by everyone very much.

 

Aichan and Suzu in 2010. They were son and mother, family members and good company throughout their lives.

One day in 2007 or so, we have made a regular evening walk around here. We have come across with a kitten on a street. Crying badly, she was limping. At first, she came closer to us. When embracing her with arm, she cried even worse. She seemed to have been injured, which later turned out to be a pelvic bone fracture, possibly due to a traffic accident. When I placed her on the ground, she was slowly leaving us somewhere. In a second, she turned back to us again as if she had made up her mind to be with us. It was the moment when we decided to add her to our family. She was named as Mitchan.

In 2007, Mitchan on a chair. She grew to be a fatty cat later. But her voice has been charming throughout the years she was with us.  Our son has loved her so much. She was like a dog in character. Whenever we did something in the garden, she was always around us in a radius of 1 meter. She would never go out of the property to the street. Seemingly, she could not forget having had the bad injury on a street.

They have lived with us over ten years. Really good family members. Parting with them has come for the past 4 years. At first, Aichan, suffering from some kind of respiratory tract problem, has gone somewhere at the moment she got quite ill. I first knew a cat would disappear from us when she/he knew it was the time of passing for her/him. She would not stay home by any means. We let her go out. It was the time of farewell with her. Mitchan was curious at anything narrow or closed. She disappeared from us abruptly one day. It was when a man of transport industry visited our home on a truck. We later suspected she might jump on it when we were not aware of that. It is our hope she is still spending happy life somewhere being loved by some family. This summer, Suzu has passed away. He was 18 years old and has gradually lost weight. He has vomitted if he took as much food as the other cats ate for years. Later, he got some kidney dysfunction as well. It seemed he learned it was the time to say good by to us.

Without them, our home is really empty. It could be kept clean. But something has been lost since they went away. They have been with us watching what went on in the family. Children have grown up and got out of the home. My parents have got old and ill. In an interval, both of them have passed away. Both I and my wife have been left. I would thank those lovely creatures having been with us for that period.

Since a new cat would live longer than ourselves, we decided not to keep anyone any longer. We still miss these three cats so much.

Three of them have made our lives more pleasant and even meaningful. Farewell to our beloved beings until we meet again!

An ancient tomb site

On the way to my old office, there is an old tomb site named Bentenzuka. Driving to the town there, I have stopped by the tomb. I don't know when it was constructed. Maybe, 6th or 7the century. This is rather a compact in size. Compact ones were always constructed in later era. Such tombs were constructed for the men of power those days. It is surprising there are more than ten such tomb sites in this city. This area is not necessarily more abundant with such historical monuments than the other areas. They are pretty common everywhere.

What it touches me is that it has been maintainted by the people around this area. In our tradition, we have worshiped our ancestors as gods. I am still moved by the fact there have been generations of people having taken such tomb site as an important monument and having cared for it as it is now. It is still a primitive religion. But the ancestors have had faith in some being supreme beyond our knowledge. It is touching me a lot. It is a relief for me that we have had those ancestors with religious mind.

I sometimes stopped by there on the way back home from work. I felt a kind of relief from this old tomb.

The rice paddies were already harvested. It stood quietly in the crisp atmosphere in the farms.

Re Ebola virus disease again

CDC has published the risk factor guide line for Ebola virus disease quoted below in this post.

We should avoid any contacts with symptomatic patients without appropriate protection. At the front of medical services, it could be difficult for the staff to observe these instructions once there is an epidemic occurring in the community. Quarantine is of limited power as well.

At present, the biggest issue is that China could be the source of the outbreak world wide. There is a close relationship between China and African countries including the epidemic area. There is heavy traffic of people between these two areas. It means EVD could be transmitted by them into China. The secretive politics as well as undeveloped medical system in China might reinforce the possible outbreak there. In such an epidemic world wide, it could be quite tough to do with it since the infrastructure of medical system could be destroyed at first anywhere.

We still should be careful about what goes on with this outbreak. Much more support should be given to the Western Africa in the outbreak now.

From CDC web site;

The following epidemiologic risk factors should be considered when evaluating a person for Ebola virus disease (Ebola), classifying contacts, or considering public health actions such as monitoring and movement restrictions(http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/exposure/monitoring-and-movement-of-persons-with-exposure.html) based on exposure.

1. High risk includes any of the following:
   • Percutaneous (e.g., needle stick) or mucous membrane exposure to blood or body fluids of a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic,
   • Exposure to the blood or body fluids (including but not limited to feces, saliva, sweat, urine, vomit, and semen) of a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic without appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)(http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/hcp/procedures-for-ppe.html),
   • Processing blood or body fluids of a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic without appropriate PPE or standard biosafety precautions,
   • Direct contact with a dead body without appropriate PPE in a country with widespread Ebola virus transmission(http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/distribution-map.html),
   • Having lived in the immediate household and provided direct care to a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic
2. Some risk includes any of the following:
   • In countries with widespread Ebola virus transmission(http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/distribution-map.html): direct contact while using appropriate PPE with a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic
   • Close contact in households, health care facilities, or community settings with a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic
     • Close contact is defined as being for a prolonged period of time while not wearing appropriate PPE within approximately 3 feet (1 meter) of a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic
3. Low (but not zero) risk includes any of the following:
   • Having been in a country with widespread Ebola virus transmission(http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/distribution-map.html) within the past 21 days and having had no known exposures
   • Having brief direct contact (e.g., shaking hands) while not wearing appropriate PPE, with a person with Ebola while the person was in the early stage of disease
   • Brief proximity, such as being in the same room for a brief period of time, with a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic
   • In countries without widespread Ebola virus transmission: direct contact while using appropriate PPE with a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic
   • Traveled on an aircraft with a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic.
4. No identifiable risk includes:
   • Contact with an asymptomatic person who had contact with person with Ebola
   • Contact with a person with Ebola before the person developed symptoms
   • Having been more than 21 days previously in a country with widespread Ebola virus transmission(http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/distribution-map.html)
   • Having been in a country without widespread Ebola virus transmission and not having any other exposures as defined above

Piazzolla



Piazzolla is a mysterious composer. His works are mixture of tango, jazz and classical music. Based on his native tango, they go beyond it over to the cosmopolitanism. It may be related with the fact he has been grown up in Argentina, educated in Europe and worked in the USA. His works won't belong to any of these genres, even though the outlook is still that of tango, but they form a unique genre themselves. Various emotions and feelings are heard from his music. The basic one is, I believe, sorrow. It is not a transient emotion but something flowing  on the bed of our lives like basso continuo.

 

This piece, Concerto para Quinteto, is my recent nightcap. Fuss spreads. In the midst of boisterous rhythm, a tender and heartfelt melody is sung by the violin solo, folowed by a song of sorrow by the accordion.